The viability of growing and grazing high-sugar rye grass in southwestern Pennsylvania

View the project report

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Animals: sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing - continuous, grazing management, pasture fertility, range improvement, grazing - rotational, stocking rate, winter forage, feed/forage
• Crop Production: no-till, strip tillage
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, marketing management, agritourism
• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

As grain prices escalate, high-sugar ryegrass may offer livestock farmers a greater rate of gain from pasture, higher carrying capacity per acre of pasture, and the environmental benefits that accompany managed grazing. The farmer will evaluate how well this new forage grass germinates and grows in the Northeast, how persistent the stands are, and the grazing preference and performance of sheep pastured on it. Results will likely take three years to emerge and verify, and will then be disseminated through producer networks, extension, field days, newsletters, and the media.